The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) ****

Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) bumbles his way through another set of adventures in the Pink Panther Strikes Again, a misleading title since the Pink Panther diamond doesn't appear in this chapter of the series (though the cartoon panther does). Former Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) has been a patient in an insane asylum since the events of Return of the Pink Panther. He escapes and attempts to murder Clouseau, but once again fails at his obsessions. Being unable to take it anymore Dreyfus gets his hands on a doomsday device and demands a ransom from the world- kill Inspector Clouseau or he'll start bringing destruction down on everyone's head. This leads to dozens of assassins hot on Clouseau's trail with hilarious results. Strikes Again is probably the best Panther film since Shot in the Dark. The movie is filled with some great jokes and prat falls, though there are some moments that fall flat, the positives outweigh the negatives. Once again Sellers is great as Clouseau and the various disguises he employs which usually end up being utterly useless in the long run. Herbert Lom makes great use of his turn to a low rent Bond villain hell bent on killing the inspector. It's almost as if this film is a Bond parody, ahead of its time in some places (the Anglo-Russian affair in this film predates the Spy Who Loved Me by a year). The Pink Panther Strikes Again is another great platform for Peter Sellers redemption in the 1970's. Though most of the film community had written him off he proved that he still had what it takes to be a comedic genius and a great actor.